Golf putting target



Aug. 7, 1962 v. J. M CAUL 3,048,405

GOLF PUTTING TARGET Filed Feb. 17, 1959 FIG. I

/6 /7 /7a- /8 l eme J Mcaau/ INVENTOR. I60

2 ATTORNEYS Unite The present advance relates to improvements in golf hole-simulating devices for use as an indoor or outdoor putting training device or practice target.

Golf is a meticulous game and it seems safe to say that to master it to any considerable extent requires more practice, a higher degree of concentration, and greater accuracy in performance, than any physical action game played today. This is particularly true as to the putting phase of the game which is highly important because par for all standard golf courses allows two putts for every green. This means that half or nearly half of even an experts strokes in a given round of golf will be putts.

Thus, the player who, by diligent practice, can reduce the number of putts required in a round of golf, can appreciably improve his scoring regardless of any other deficiencies in his game.

The reward for putting practice in the form of score improvement has always been recognized, and commencing many years ago the market has been flooded with various putting practice devices for indoor and outdoor use. In most instances these devices have included some sort of elevated trapping means for catching the ball or arresting its progress when stroked thereagainst.

But since such prior art targets have borne little or no resemblance to the cup and flag pin-provided target of actual play, the practicing player is deprived of his customary cup edge and flag pin-provided aiming points; and usually no clearly defined aiming points are provided. Thus, use of prior art targets tends to give the player at least an unrealistic sort of feeling if he is not actually distracted by the target appearance and its lack of aiming points.

There are several long established and valid theories regarding putting. Two or these are:

(1) On short putts, particularly, one must select a specific aiming point within or outside the cup.

(2) On any putt, short or long, the stroking force applied to the ball should never exceed by an considerable degree the amount required to roll the ball into the cup.

In this connection, with most prior art practice putting devices it is, as aforenoted, diflicult to secure a specific point of aim, and some of these devices also require eX- cessive force to be applied to the ball for purposes of entrapment or ball return. These devices also are frequently one directional, i.e., involving a very narrow arc of approach, both of which latter will be simultaneously viewable at all putting distances.

Therefore, the instant invention has for its primary object to overcome the aforenoted main objections to prior art devices by providing a target which, while eliminating the necessity for a surface hole, will duplicate in appearance, and preferably in size, the cup and central flag pin-provided target of actual play.

Additionally the invention, in a more specific aspect, contemplates the use of a very thin plane topped golf cupsimulating plate from which rises a weight in the form of a flag pin-simulating post so that the latter tends to so depress the plate in a mg or other yielding supporting surface as to dispose the plate top in plane with said surface for stability purposes; and also so that the plate edge will not deflect the ball.

The invention is omni-directional; provides by means of pin or rim, a variety of always visible specific aiming points; and is extremely realistic in that it requires no States Patent 6 3,948/lfi5 Patented Aug. 7, 1962 extra force to be applied in the stroking of the golf ball.

The invention also contemplates a device as characterized which is simple, strong and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, and which will enable the user to readily determine which of his practice putts would be holed out in actual play.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device for the purpose specified which has the counterpart of a flag-carrying pin so that the characteristic audible click will result when the putted ball trikes the same.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to golfers upon reference to the accompanying drawings in connection with the detailed description thereof appearing hereinafter.

It is to be understood, however, that the disclosure of the drawings is to be taken as illustrative rather than limitative, since the inventive concept is susceptible of other mechanical expressions within the spirit and scope of the subject matter claimed hereinafter.

In the drawings, wherein the same reference characters have been used to designate the same parts throughout the several views,

FIG. 1 is a perspective View illustrating a golfer in a putting stance and showing one form of my improved target, its similarity to the actual cup and flag-carrying pin being emphasized by the dotted line showing of the latter;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the target of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the device with a tufted surfaced supporting rug shown in section; and

FIG. 4 is a central cross-sectional view through the unit.

Referring to the drawing by reference characters, FIG. 1 illustrates the indoor use of my golf hole-simulating putting practice device or target 8, the room having wallto-wall carpeting 5! :as indicated. The view discloses the golfer 10 in a putting stance and about to stroke the ball 11 toward the hole-simulating target.

While on the subject of FIG. 1, attention is invited to the dotted line showing therein of the flag pin 12, and cup 13 of an actual golf hole, illustration of which has been incorporated to emphasize the practical identity between same and my target.

In carrying out the invention, the putting practice device or target, as presently illustrated, comprises the preferably thin and disk-form golf cup-simulating plate 14, from the center of which rises the short pin 15 corresponding to the dotted line showing of the conventional flag pin 12. Also, so that the practicing golfer will derive a maximum benefit from use of the device, the plate 14 and pin 1'5 will correspond in diameter to the actual cup and pin 13 and 12, respectively.

Although the pin 15 may be secured to plate 14- in a variety of ways (viz. welding, etc.), I prefer, particularly when a thin plate is employed, to detachably secure the pin 15 to it by means of a conventional headed machine screw 16 which extends through a central. hole in plate 14 and takes in the concentric bore 17 that opens from the lower end of pin 15.

So that the screw head 16a will be flush with the bottom plate surface, I provide the screw-receiving plate hole with a surrounding frustro-conical indentation 18 to seat screw head 16a. The entry end of pin bore 17, in turn, is flared as at 17a to receive plate indentation 118. Thus, a functionally integral-in-service plate and pin assembly 14, 15, is provided. Separation of the plate and pin (14-, 15) may be desirable, depending upon the nature of the plate material, when the device is being packed for shipment or storage so as to prevent possible deformation of the plate 14.

Plate 14 may be made of a variety of materials such as 3 fibre, plastic, or metal, but the preferred material is a very thin and tough spring metal which is substantially nondefor-mable. A very thin plate 14 is desirable because even when it is supported upon a substantially non-yielding surface its marginal edge will effect a minimum of arresting or defiectional action on a putted golf ball.

As to the plate-carried pin 15, it will preferably be of metal and of considerable weight. Thus, when the device is applied to a rug 9 as in FIG. 3, the weighted plate 14 will so compress the tufted rug surface 9a as to cause the top plate surface to be substantially flush with the surrounding rug surface. This depression of the plate 14 into the rug, or other surface 9a, also tends to prevent plate movement upon ball and pin contact, particularly when, as shown in FIG. 3, the plate edge is normal to the top plate surface.

Also to be noted is the fact that when the ball strikes pin 15 the accuracy of the shot will be indicated by the same audible click which results in actual play.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a putting practice device that is realistic. Also, it is non-directional and since it omits ball trapping means, putted balls are readily recovered and re-located as usual for subsequent shots with the aid of the putter. If and when a materially thicker plate 14 is used, the marginadjacent top surface of same should be circumferentially bevelled to reduce interference with ball travel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A golf hole-simulating putting practice target providing aiming points optically simulating the habitually relied upon cup rim and adjacent flag pin portion provided aiming points of an actual golf hole, and which aiming points are viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances, said target consisting solely of a wholly plane topped disk-form and substantially non-deformable golf cup-simulating plate, a centrally located and fixedly supported upstanding and cylindrical flag pin-simulating post carried by the top surface of said plate, the diameters of the plate and post approximately corresponding to the usual diameters of golf cups and flag pins, respectively; and the plate edge and the post portion which is immediately adjacent the plate being simultaneously viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances, whereby the plate edge and immediately adjacent post portion optically simulate the cup rim and lower flag pin portion, respectively, which as aforenoted are the putt lining up or aiming reference points of actual play and frequently combine to indicate the actual aiming point.

2. A golf hole-simulating putting practice target pro viding aiming points optically simulating the habitually relied upon cup rim and adjacent flag pin portion provided aiming points of an actual golf hole, and which aiming points are viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances, said target consisting solely of a wholly plane topped disk-form and substantially rigid and non-deform able golf cup-simulating plate, the diameters of the plate and post approximately corresponding to the usual diameters of golf cups and flag pins, respectively; the plate edge and the post portion which is immediately adjacent the plate being simultaneously viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances, and said post being of a material calculated to result in the emission of the click-like ball and flag pin contact-produced sound when a putted ball strikes said post.

3. A golf hole-simulating putting practice target providing aiming points optically simulating the habitually relied upon cup rim and adjacent flag pin portion provided aiming points of an actual golf hole, and which aiming points are viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances, said target consisting solely of a stiff thin and substantially non-deformable disk-form golf cupsimulating plate having a wholly plane top surface and a substantially plane bottom surface, and a centrally located fixedly supported upstanding and cylindrical flag pin-simulating post segment carried by the top surface of said plate, the diameters of the plate and post approximately corresponding to the usual diameters of golf cups and flag pins, respectively; said post segment being of weighty material so that when the plate is disposed on a lawn, rug, or other compressible surface, the top thereof will be caused to lie substantially flush with such surrounding surface in order not to interfere with the travel of an approaching ball, and the plate edge and the post portion which is immediately adjacent the plate being simultaneously viewable from a putting stance at all putting distances whereby the plate edge and immediately adjacent post portion optically simulate the cup rim and lower flag pin portion, respectively, which are the putt-lining up or aiming reference points of actual play and frequently combine to indicate the actual aiming point.

4. The structure of claim 3, and said post being of a material calculated to result in the emission of a click-like ball and flag pin contact-produced sound when a putted ball strikes said post, whereby there will be an audible as well as a visual indication of a properly directed putt.

5. The structure of claim 3, and said post being of a material calculated to result in the emission of a clicklike ball and flag pin contact-produced sound When a putted ball strikes said post, whereby there will be an audible as well as a visual indication of a properly directed putt, and substantially the entire outer edge of said plate being in a plane substantially normal to the top and bottom surfaces thereof so as to provide an endless braking surface of maximum depth to engage surrounding areas of the plate-supporting surface into which the plate has been depressed by the weight of said flag pin-simulating post; whereby the plate will not tend to be actuated along the supporting surface when the putted ball strikes said post for-m weight.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,299 Johnson Apr. 5, 1910 979,313 King et al Dec. 20, 1910 1,297,055 Austin Mar. 11, 1919 1,525,167 Comstock Feb. 3, 1925 1,616,236 Schacht Feb. 1, 1927 1,899,820 Milne Feb. 28, 1933 2,098,011 Osvold Nov. 2, 1937 2,356,531 Pitar Aug. 22, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,476 Great Britain 1909 

